Technology

This is a guest article by Ruben Corbo, a writer for the website Broadband Expert where you can find internet service providers in your area and compare prices on different mobile broadband deals.

More and more, mobile devices are being utilized for the creation of high quality music content. Currently, there are several music production and editing applications for both the iPod/iPad operating system (iOS) and the Android platform. Amplitube, available on the iPad, lets the user feed audio from microphones and instruments directly into the device using a simple adaptor. Android’s Tape Machine Recorder application allows users to record and modify voice and other audio recordings to create professional grade music. Soon, Apple is going to take mobile music production to another level with the introduction of touch sensitive screens on new iPads. The iPad 3 will feature an accelerometer, which will enable the device to detect the difference between a light and soft touch. The implications of this with regards to mobile music production are HUGE!

This post was written by Brittany Lyons, who aspires to be a psychology professor, but decided to take some time off from grad school to help people learn to navigate the academic lifestyle. She currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where she spends her time reading science fiction and walking her dog.

British record label EMI has teamed with technology company The Echo Nest to launch a music-based application coding project. Operating through the OpenEMI initiative, the project grants developers access to EMI’s music catalog for the purpose of creating applications for Apple and Android devices, and the internet in general. Potential applications could include streaming services similar to Pandora or music-based games like Guitar Hero.

The music coding project aims to create interactive technology tools in a democratic manner. Established and beginner developers have an equal shot at designing a potential application for the label’s approval—you don’t need programming PhDs to participate in the project. The end result is a product that promotes an EMI artist, The Echo Nest’s technology, and the career of the developer all at once.

Ian Rogers’ video series This Week In Music produces some really awesome videos on a weekly basis, but I rarely find the time to actually sit and watch them because they are usually around an hour in length. I woke up a bit earlier this morning so I decided to use my free time to watch this interview, and I’m really glad I did.

Man, this bunch really has a hard time giving away their service. I guess you’ve got to commend a company with such tenacity and idealism, right? Being idealistic myself, I normally would applaud such behavior, but I think Rdio is taking an enormous risk by only offerring part of their service for free.

Here is an imagined scenario that would push this concept further: while I’m working out, I’m listening to some exotic, crowdsourced playlist on my wireless headphones that is being streamed via my phone. When I get into my car, the music automatically transfers to my car stereo. When I get home, the music pauses while I walk into my house but once I dock my phone, it transfers into the house stereo system, which will play on the speakers nearest to me, and will follow me as I move around the house.